The reliability of the methods of making hermetically sealed terminal assemblies used in compressors is well recognized. Terminal assemblies made by the Vitrus Company, Amphenol, and Ceramaseal are typical examples of compressor assemblies made with standard methods. Examples of compressor assemblies are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,433, issued to B. Bowsky, et al. on Apr. 22, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,015, issued to F. Dieter Paterek, et al. On Nov. 28, 1995. These two aforementioned patents were further concerned with conductive pin fusing and with pin design, respectively. U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,003, issued to B. Bowsky et al. on Apr. 1, 1986 teaches an aperture with flattened neck portion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,333, issued to B. Bowsky et. al. on Apr. 22, 1986, teaches the relative coefficients of expansion and softening point temperatures in U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,015, issued to F. D. Paterek et. al. on Nov. 28, 1995. U.S. Pat. No. 6,509,525 issued to Honkomp et al. on Jan. 21, 2003 further teaches an arc-resistant assembly.
The electrical current level and differential pressure experienced by compressor terminal assemblies is generally less than hermetic refrigerant container terminal assemblies that contain power electronic inverter/converter components. Hermetic terminal assemblies for inverters/converters require the longitudinal and radial coefficients of thermal expansions of the conductors to be compatible with those of the seal material (glass, ceramic, polymer, or other equivalent material). Furthermore, the chosen seal material between the terminal assembly and the material of the hermetic container must be compatible. Methods for making terminal assemblies used for the hermetic inverters/converters are distinct from the available hermetic terminal/connector assembly methods because:
(1) The electrical rating of the hermetic inverter/converter is generally much higher than that of a hermetic compressor. A 50 kW motor requires an inverter/converter that roughly corresponds to 1150-amp 3-phase line current for a 42-volt DC-link, and to 120-amp line current for a 400-volt DC-link.
(2) The DC-link bus, signal leads, and refrigerant tubing are extra items that differ from the AC electric power of a compressor. The DC-link-current magnitudes are also high. They are roughly 1400 amp and 150 amp, respectively, for the above two cases.
(3) The DC-link requires a low inductance circuit.
(4) There are minimums of six gate signal inputs that require low interference and short connections.
(5) Other additional diagnostic signals may also need to be included.